Athlete Spotlight
Reid Tankersley isn't tall. Actually, he's quite short - about 5-foot-4 - but his impact the past two weeks has made him seem like a 7-footer.
Evans kicker Reid Tankersley is in the Athlete Spotlight.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Tankersley's strong right leg has helped the Knights win six games this season.
His flair for the dramatic, however, has been evident in the past two games.
Tankersley has kicked game winners in consecutive weeks as the Knights have clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2000.
"He is clutch," Evans quarterback Brad Freeman said. "It is that simple. He is unbelievable. We have all the faith in the world in him."
Tankersley kicked a 31-yard game winner with 2:34 left against Effingham County on Oct. 8 to give the Knights a 20-17 victory. It was his second field goal of the game.
He had another chance Friday against Lakeside to win the game, but he had to overcome an extra-point miss earlier in the game.
"I don't think he has ever missed a PAT attempt," Evans coach Marty Jackson said. "But we knew he'd get another chance and that he would convert it."
Tankersley made a 27-yarder with 45 seconds to play for a 15-13 win over the rival Panthers and clinched the Knights' playoff berth.
His teammates lifted Tankersley onto their shoulders after the game and students chanted his name.
"I just lined it up and made it," he said after the game.
Tankersley said he was nervous when he went onto the field but settled down before the snap.
Jackson said, almost prophetically, in the preseason that Tankersley would, "win us a couple of close ones before the season was over."
Tankersley said in pre-season that he hopes to be a kicker in college after he graduates high school.